Delhi can’t protect its children, four raped in last 24 hours

Already reeling from a spate of recent rapes involving minors, the Capital witnessed four more such cases in the past 24 hours alone. Moreover, the accused — the father in one incident — were known to the victims in all cases.

The first case was reported from central Delhi’s Ranjeet Nagar where a five-year-old girl was allegedly raped by her neighbour on Thursday. A police official said that the matter came to light after the victim’s mother saw blood on the girl’s underwear and rushed her to a nearby clinic. Doctors confirmed that she had been sexually assaulted.

“The girl told her mother that a neighbour, a sweeper for the Municipal Corporation of Delhi, had abused her. The accused was arrested from his house,” the official said.

In the second incident, a 14-year-old girl was raped by her father when they were alone at home in outer Delhi’s Alipur on Thursday afternoon. The accused was later arrested.

The third incident was reported from north Delhi’s Subzi Mandi, where a 15-year-old boy was held for raping his six-year-old neighbour. In the fourth, a 17-year-old girl was raped by her neighbour at her home in Kanjhawala, and the accused was arrested.